Emotion
by dizzysunfish
Summary: Basic one-shot K&K fluff. Rated PG for one or two little swear words, that's all.


Introduction

The smell of rain wafted through the air, but there was no sign of a storm. Kaoru gazed up into the sky, gauging whether or not it would open up and pour on their beautiful, late-spring day. The cherry blossoms had begun to fall only just the other day—a sure sign that summer was closing in on the dojo. Had it really been a year since Kenshin had arrived? "And yet," Kaoru sighed, but trailed off. Were all those days of cheerful smiles a mistake? Had she misread all his signs? She feared she would never know the truth of her rurouni's feelings.

"Jou-chan!" Sanosuke cried, breaking the silence in the yard. "Where do you want the firewood?" He was lugging two small bundles of freshly cut wood on his shoulders over to her place outside her bedroom door.

"Over by the bathroom." She replied. "Try to keep it somewhere where it won't get wet. I think it might rain."

"Jou-chan, what are you saying? There's no sign of a storm at all! You need to practice your weather-predicting skills, which, I might add, aren't too great to begin with."

"But that smell…" She said as he walked off to go find some shade in which to nap.

"I wouldn't worry about it," he called over his shoulder. "Maybe it's just the river you smell. Or Yahiko. Either one. Rain does smell a bit like dirt, don't you think?"

Kaoru smiled to herself as her spiky-haired friend walked off beyond sight. He was right. Rain did have a bit of a dusty smell to it, just like her dirty student, but there was something about it that was just far too beautiful. It definitely wasn't Yahiko.

Ayame and Suzume played quietly in a small patch of newly grown grass (which surprisingly grew in the middle of the yard) while their elders looked on. Talking in quiet murmurs, the adults (and Yahiko) conversed around some chilled watermelon. Kaoru periodically stole glances at Kenshin, trying to read into his heart, but she never once caught him looking at her when it wasn't part of polite conversation.

As the guests left, Kaoru tried hard to fight back a tear, but it just wouldn't be held back. Never before had she had so many doubts about Kenshin's feelings. Her musings were put to a halt when Yahiko yawned loudly and proclaimed that he was going to bed. Kenshin followed saying something about getting up early the next morning to do some chores. Kaoru, now all alone was free to let her tears fall, without fear of being caught.

The next morning had something… missing, but Kaoru couldn't quite put her finger on it. Mornings at the dojo always had a comfortable amount of noise, this one of no exception, but something just wasn't right. It was then that it hit her. Chirping birds were the only things that touched her ears—no laughing, no clattering pots, no begging Sanosuke. She quickly dressed and peeked out the door only to find a immensely bored-looking Yahiko drawing in the dirt with his bokken. "Yahiko, where's—"

"Kenshin? He said he had to do some errands or something like that," her student replied. "Sanosuke came by earlier too, but Kenshin was gone so he went to the clinic for breakfast."

"Well he could've just stuck around for a bit longer and I'd have made something," Kaoru muttered under her breath, but she already knew the answer. Her food tasted like shit, and she'd been told so by that stupid tori-atama many times. She stormed off towards the school to grab her bokken.

Some would call it a blessing, others a curse, but Kaoru's sadness was gone. Instead, she was angry. Kenshin all of a sudden just decided to pick up and leave, giving her quite a scare. She forcefully slid open the shoji-screen door and bent over coughing as a sheet of dust, awakened by the door's swift movement, dropped to the floor and filled her lungs.

"Kaoru-san," a gentle voice arose from behind her.

"Kenshin!" she exclaimed, trying to suppress coughs.

"Kaoru-san, I bought these for you," he said as he handed her a small bouquet of sakura blossoms.

Glossary:

Jou-chan Kaoru's nickname, given to her by Sanosuke. According to the anime, it's English equivalent is something along the lines of "Little Missy."

Tori-atama Sanosuke's nickname, roughly meaning "rooster head."

Bokken a wooden sword used in Japanese swordsmanship schools during the time in which "Rurouni Kenshin" took place. I used to know exactly what they were called, but I kind of forgot (). I'm not sure if this is the right term or not, but I'm too lazy to go look it up. Deal with it!

Author's Notes:

This is just a little one-shot thing I wrote to get into the "Kenshin" mood while I continue writing a much larger fanfiction. It was also sort of to see if my crappy computer would actually upload something for once…


End file.
